Uri L'Tzedek and Food Justice: Focus on Flaum's
Jewish Channel
"You shall not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of your brethren, or of your strangers that are in your land within your gates. In the same day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and he made himself dependent on you; lest he cry against you to G-d and it be sin for you."
(Dvarim 24:14-15)
Treating workers, of all races and religions, with dignity, respect, and fairness is in line with fundamental Jewish values and law as expressed by the Torah and Halacha. As a company that serves and represents these laws and values, it is incumbent upon Flaum's Appetizing to pay back these wages.
We are deeply troubled that Flaum's demonstrated a pattern of exploiting immigrant workers, by interfering with their right to freely organize, as documented by an NLRB ruling, and for a pattern of persistent wage theft as outlined by a federal lawsuit.
We are deeply troubled that when those workers took legal action to stand up for better treatment, they were all illegally fired, including those with over 10 years with the company.
We are deeply troubled that legal bodies in the United States have ordered Flaum's to pay restitution to these workers, and the company has yet to comply with these orders.
We ask the following from Flaum's appetizing: Please comply with the court order and pay the approximately $270,000 you owe to your former workers for illegal labor practices and address the hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime. Until this happens, we feel compelled to refrain from purchasing or consuming the products Flaum's makes or distributes. We call upon other consumers to do the same, until this matter is resolved.
We encourage all who conduct business with Flaums to play a role in bringing justice to this matter. We would like to initiate a dialog with other businesses and the workers by setting up a meeting at your earliest convenience. Please contact Ari Hart, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to arrange this meeting.
Read Press about the Flaum's Appetizing Campaign:
http://www.theknightnews.com/2012/02/07/queens-college-students-protest-grocery-store/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-hart/post_835_b_713915.html
http://www.forward.com/articles/129832/
http://www.forward.com/articles/146245/
http://werepair.org/blog/queens-college-students-take-action-against-flaums/4660
